life is still happening

Thank goodness for new beginnings and the opportunity to start over. I have always wished there was more representation of families with older kids homeschooling; I've wanted to look ahead to how things might be, what our days might look like. It's always been helpful for me to know more of the how and the why of people making this choice for their lives.  Around here the number of kids staying out of school really dwindles around Eliza's age, and we were noticing recently that kids in their early teens aren't well represented out in the community either! They hit that independent age and aren't along for every family outing and errand. The middles have suddenly disappeared.

All this to say: I've let this space go silent, and maybe there's someone out there who would like the occasional peek into the future, so I'm making an attempt to come back here and represent one picture of Life as a family with no kids in school...

But it's been the holidays and so, please, enjoy a glimpse of that. 

It was the year of the magicicada, so it's fitting that our tree
had a stowaway or two!

Ani with "her baby".  I'll leave that for another post...

My dear family was here, as they have been for the last several years. We feel fortunate to not be traveling further than the livingroom futon this time of year.

Christmas Day snap-circuits. With pajamas.

My new moustache, from Ani

New games to play! Quelf, Exploding Kittens, Code Names, Sushi Go...

It was cold and a little rainy, until it was gorgeously sunny and a little warmer. Out to Lake Hope for a short hike and lunch at the lodge.

Our holiday was about a lot of hanging out, playing games and eating bags of clementines. The new year came with blue skies and an eerie lack of birds, which did not bode well for our "bird of the year" tradition. Not at the feeders, not flying by the windows...it was like the avian rapture, until we headed out at Dan's urging to a local ridge to take a sunny walk...ah! Yes. Of course. Geese just where we knew we'd find them, by the river, and for Ani, her first sighting of bluebirds! Lucky girl, with all that happiness to fill her year.

Happy New Year!