It feels like we have been home forever now. We've packed a lot into the months we've been here. When we arrived home in October the boys spent two weeks rehearsing Three Musketeers. Isaac starred as D'Artignan and worked diligently memorizing his lines and sword-fighting sequences. The performances were awesome. It's amazing what you can accomplish with two weeks and twenty home-school kids. When the play came to an end the boys started piano lessons and we organized a Python computer programming class at MSU. We rounded up a bunch of friends for a weekly board game meeting at a local cafe. In November we participated in a two-day wilderness first-aid course where we mended each others heinous imaginary wounds and brought each other back from the dead with CPR and AED machines. We stayed put for Thanksgiving and enjoyed a lovely and delicious holiday at home. We bought mid-week passes at the ski hill and hit the slopes opening day. We were off to a great start, logging four days in the first two weeks which...came to an abrupt and violent halt on the first run of the fourth day when I crashed at 47mph and broke my right wrist just a few days before Christmas. Now I have a matched set of broken-healed wrists. Jason and Isaac continued skiing weekly while Aaron and I went for walks and played games at home. At Christmas our house filled with family who graciously took care of me and themselves while I worked on my ambidexterity. Thanks for all of your help. After the New Year we organized a weekly writing class as well as a twice weekly physics class where the boys and I learned about free-body diagrams and what math is really for. People actually use that stuff to solve problems! It's not just a way to torture kids in school so they can get good grades on a test. We balanced the science and tech classes with a two-day singing workshop with Celtic super-star Moira Smiley where the kids learned to sing Celtic and medieval tunes. Jason organized a home-school hackathon with a group of our closest buddies at MSU. The kids hacked specially-prepared websites to their heart's delights and totally fed off of each other's enthusiasm. When a hack was discovered the computer vocalized triumphant-gloating delight like "First Blood," "Wicked Sick" or "Humiliation" and the hacker behind the computer would double-over in giggles. A crowd of fellow home-school hackers would then gather around to hear the secret divulged as to what fiendish thing was just done. It was awesome. In February we asked a friend to teach a couple of electrical circuits classes. With friends we accidentally melted batteries, blew up LED's, lost a few tufts of hair and received mild shocks...all in all a success, I'd say. The first two weeks of March were consumed with their bi-yearly Shakespeare play. This time it was Comedy of Errors, vaudeville style. And so, after six months at home (the longest stretch we have spent at home in I don't even know how many years) hanging and learning with our amazing set of home school friends, it is time for us to hit the road again.
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