love and statesmen

There were 3 wonderful parts to last week:

• Hard work on the basement.
• A wedding.
• An educational vacation.

We started out working in our basement; laying down Pergo flooring in the "school" room, finishing walls and in general trying to get things ready in the great room for the carpet installation in 5 weeks. The weather was so beautiful that we also worked outside and put in some of our garden; namely tomatoes, lettuce, squash & cucumbers. We were in the zone! Super focused! The rest of the house was super... neglected, but we were okay with that.

Then we got a phone call. My niece, Nicole, and her fiance', Cody, decided to elope and wondered if they could honeymoon at our house while we were on vacation. (We had already asked her if she could "house sit" while we were gone.)

Ummmm.....ok. Only if we get to go to the wedding -HELLO? Who's your favorite Aunt & Uncle??? So we pulled up our boot straps, grabbed a mop and bucket, and cleaned the sadly neglected remains of our house. After all, it's one thing to have a clean house and an entirely different thing to have one worthy of honeymoon-retreat status.

We cleaned like we've never cleaned before. Then I had fun making posters that said things like "Honeymoon suite" and "Hotel Newlywed" and "Cafe Amore". We put our lace runner on the kitchen table with roses in a vase and candles and our "good" dishes. I even made a "menu" and name cards. We put our down comforter in the "good" duvet cover and sprinkled rose petals on the bed and placed candles in the room.

The next day, Wednesday May 3, we met Cody & Nicole (and their families plus Grandma) in Tooele to watch them get married. (Only got video, sorry.) They were a bit nervous, but lovely, and we're so happy for them. And, no, she's not pregnant. It's an unfortunate forcing-the-hand issue from Cody's family --their loss! They stayed that night in a hotel, and came over the next day to see us off.

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We spent four days in Southern Utah for the Thomas Jefferson Education seminar. TJed is one of the many methods I use for homeschooling. It's about building statesmen. It was started by Dr. Oliver DeMille, who then co-founded the George Wythe College (George Wythe was Thomas Jefferson's mentor). The crux of the TJ method is 1) Classics, and 2) Mentors. A "classic" can be any medium, not just literature, that you learn something from over and over and over and over again. A "mentor" is someone that will INSPIRE you in a certain subject, not just "require" you to parrot back information. The TJ method also includes phases of learning and "steps" of methodology.

It is a very good book and can be used in any area of life- financial, marital relations, physical health, etc. This was the 3rd year I've heard Dr. DeMille speak and it absolutely reaffirms not only why I homeschool, but my love for our founding fathers and the wonderful statesmen that they were.

Gene and the girls stayed around the hotel and enjoyed the swimming pool while I attended the seminar. After the lectures we went out to eat and I got to join them a couple of times at the pool. Emma loved her little life jacket and hated it when we'd get too close or hold on to her. Sarah is getting really good at swimming & diving under water for objects & propelling herself.

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It was such a wonderful week on so many levels. Congratulations Cody & Nicole! We love you both and wish you the very best.