Never say Never

 So.......we homeschool now.  I won't lie, it felt like I crossed over to a new and never thought of place when I unenrolled my children, turned in their district devices, and committed fully to homeschooling for the near future.  I swore I would never homeschool.

2020 was like, yer so cute when yer stupid.

I am so thankful that Bob and I made this decision a while ago because we have saved ourselves and our children so many tears and frustration plus, we have done so much learning and growing and if you ever see Lily....ask her what she thinks of Mesopotamia! Instead of being lost in the neverending frustration of Webex meetings and technological problems.....we are learning, and playing, and travelling.  I am grateful.

I know its super random to have a colorful gym mat in this blog, but this right here is the reason Evie is actually doing work.  She does school and then cartwheels and backwalkovers. Some days its a crash pad.

Homeschooling is not something that I ever wanted to do.  Not because I couldn't but because our kids are social creatures and very dearly love the commraderie of daily friends and peer community.  We feel the schoolyard loss, but the educational world is so full of uncertainty and strife and struggle and I am simply determined to not allow 2020 to steal the love of learning from my kids.  

It has been a challenging switch and a lifestyle change for us.  I am still navigating planning and routine, coupled with school work and the inevitability of being teacher, wife, homemaker, mother, photographer, consultant writer, and friend.  It's a lot.

But we Longmires can do hard things and are so excited for our Time 4 Learning program and the incredible gift of time and flexibility.  

We are travelling for the entire month of October and have done several camping trips without pressure to make it home for school.  We are finding that learning happens everywhere.....even in the most unlikely of places.  Its new and creative and slowly becoming a joyful experience.  

I hope that when my girls do return to the classroom full time that the transition will be full of all the old feelings, and not shaded under all of the COVID measures and angst. I pray that 2020 will actually be a time the girls fondly remember as the time we did what we didn't want to AND had a whole lot of fun.

I suppose the moral of this little blog is Never say Never....and when faced with a chance to do something you never thought you would do.....maybe embrace it.  Sometimes treasures are found in the most unlikely of places.  

Bethany plays Little Kahuna!

A few years ago our good buddies Jeff and Melissa introduced Bob and me to the Funkalicious Beach Volleyball leagues here in the valley.  After discovering that Bob played in high school, they were quick to recruit his talent and tallness (you can't teach tall) for their team and a fun outlet was born.  Initially I was thrilled for Bob to find a place to enjoy something that he loved and build friendships, and it wasn't until last year that I decided it was my turn to jump into the volleyball world.

Even as a kid I loved playing the game of volleyball in church or at camp.  There was no rhyme or reason to the playing, but I always thought it was fun to try to hit the ball back and forth over the net.  Out of all the ball sports volleyball was definitely my favorite for recreational playing.  Hand eye coordination be damned. 

Last year I decided to join the Funk Rec League and played with a handful of teams for 3 different seasons.  Honestly we were all a hot mess.  We had fun, but we all were just trying to figure out whos ball it was to hit.  We lost.....a lot, but I really discovered that I would like to learn to play this game.  I decided it would be a blast to actually be good enough to bump, set, and hit the ball not freak out that the ball is coming and then miss by a mile.  

So last season Bob's team lost one of their players and the three leftover teammates were all willing to have me play back row in the Little Kahuna League to learn this game I really wanted to play.  I am seriously so grateful for my husband, Michelle, and Funk owner Shawn for taking me under their wings and spending a season in full on coach mode.

I won't lie, I have had a lot to learn, and they have had to run, jump, dive, and throw themselves into many positions to save some of my less than optimal hits, but by golly, 8 weeks later and I am starting to feel like I might have a league volleyball future! 

I am understanding the flow of the game, body placement, team play, controlling the ball, rules of the net, and keeping score (hardest feat of them all).  It has been so much fun to challenge myself to learn new things and develop skills that I have never honed. 

Our season found us in 13th place out of 16 teams so we were seeded in the silver tournament.  We showed up last Thursday and went from losing statistics to undefeated.  It was truly amazing to play in games where we worked together and pulled of several victories.  So great.

We won ourselves a seed into the gold tournament this week and I cannot wait to play the stronger teams.  Honestly I am not expecting to win, but it is so exciting to feel ready and capable of playing them underdog style.  Here's to Funkalicious volleyball and the gaming I see in our future!

 

Erienne turns 10 at the Flying E

 I am so grateful for friends and extremely grateful for the Allens.  Over the past year or so we have truly become the best of friends and as a homeschool Mom, Melissa has been an angel of strength and mercy for me.  We have joined forces in so many ways this year and I am grateful. Our kids have become the best of friends and I am so glad that this year we were able to give Erienne the birthday of her dreams.

This girlie wanted a girls camping trip, complete with horseback riding, playing, campfires, and all the fun that comes with it.  My parents were more than willing to make the dream come true and we spent 4 days on their property having a BLAST doing all the things Erienne was hoping for.  It truly was a weekend to remember.

These 4 girls were the invitees to the main event on Saturday and the 4 of them had an absolute blast.  

Before the official party, we spent a couple of days riding horses with these 4 and enjoying the great outdoors at the Flying E.

Erienne was a natural and such a quick learner.  She immediately fell in love with all things horses and spent any time she could riding and learning all about grooming and care.

Lily loved teaching her friend all about RJ, Nightwing, and Cisco.  It was really fun for me to see her share her knowledge in such a competent way.  The girls, and Nathan had so much fun.

Even Melissa took a turn,  "Ride'em Cowgirl!"......or "hold on City girl!"

The kids finished up with the horses and spent their time playing in the barn, with the kitties, and really all over the property.  When evening rolled around that first night we all sat down outside to watch Moana on the Allen's projector.  Candy, movie, and friends......awesome.

One of the school projects we did for the weekend was give the kids access to all of Memaw and Papas boxes and stuff for a team engineering project.

Mode of transportation

Fit all 4 of you

You have to agree

It worked and they successfully completed a train with different individual cars and a smoke stack.

Evie was the kid who decided a box would do........here's a box.....and I sit in it.

Erienne had a built in touch screen for movies and a cushion for sitting.

Lily had wheels, a cushion, a TV, and a homemade remote for viewing options.

And Nathan took up the lead car roll complete with smoke stack.

The finished product was great and they even learned a wee bit about science when they happened upon a dead (thankfully) black widow.

On Saturday Erienne had the whole day to herself with her girlfriends. Audrey came up for the day and Eri gifted all the girls these amazing matching shirts.  Such a fun start to a great evening.

The girls played on horses, watched a movie, played the game of LIFE, giggled, and enjoyed a bunch of smore's over the campfire while listening to Mom and I sing some good old songs.  It was a great memory and such a fun day celebrating this 10 year old.

Sharing life with friends is such a gift right now especially during this time of homeschooling and finding life down a different path.  We are so excited for what is in store and look forward to many more celebrations with this girlie!  Happy Birthday Erienne!!