Surprising Nate

Well, it's been a few weeks and I guess it's time for a little catching up here on the blog.   I know you have all been waiting on pins and needles to see what excitement has been going on to keep me away. This time it was a little trek to Tennessee to surprise my brother for this 50th birthday.   His birthday was actually back at the end of May, but he was off trekking the world on his birthday (visiting his 100th country!!!), so we opted for the end of June to surprise him instead.   

All seven of us siblings gathered in from 4 different states (Utah, California, Virginia, Maryland) to surprise him at his home in rural Tennessee (about an hour and a half from Nashville).  

My mom and I arrived several hours earlier than anyone else, so we did a little exploring in Nashville, while staying close to the airport, so we could do runs to pick people up. 

Opry Mills Mall fit the bill perfectly.  It was only 10 minutes to the airport and had air conditioning, comfy places to sit, and whatever kind of entertainment we could think of.   Here we are in the Bass Pro Shop.

We found a good place to get some food...

And found some yummy cupcakes to try, one of which, was even gluten free! 

AT one point, we even sat in some massage chairs and took naps, since we'd been up since 3:00am!   😂

The Grand Ole Opry is right next door, so we also walked across the parking lot to check that out as well. 

Eventually we picked up Kristina and Matt.  Pete and Tim arrived later that night.   We all stayed in a hotel near Nashville that night, since we had to wait until Nate was done with work for the day before surprising him.  

On Friday, Tim, Matt, Kristina, Mom, and I visited the Hermitage--the home of Andrew Jackson.

  It was a beautiful home on gorgeous grounds, but we found the tour a little simplistic, focusing more on the home decor than anything to do with Andrew Jackson.  

After that we made our way up to Nate's house where Pete and Heather met us separately (but not AnnaLisa, since she couldn't take any time off of work and her flight was later that night).  I think he was quite surprised to see us all!

That night we just got his house set up for all of us to stay (we brought air mattresses, pillows, and blankets) and mostly just talked, ate, and watched funny youtube videos.   The next day, Nate took us to one of his favorite hikes. 

Later we did a little picture shoot at Fort Donelson National Battlefield...

The number of selfies I took on this trip was a bit obnoxious. 

Perhaps really obnoxious...

Later we actually dressed up in semi-coordinating clothes and did a real photo shoot with Nate's camera and a tripod  at a park in Clarksville. 

We didn't do too badly, if I do say so myself.  Definitely better than getting a closeup of my gray hairs and wrinkles! 

Of course we had to do a silly one too!  

After that, we went to a restaurant in Clarksville called the Mailroom.   I may or may not have partially chosen it because of the name, but it did have very good reviews as well.  

The food and service was good...and they gave us a free postcard!   My type of restaurant for sure! 

After that, we found a cute ice cream shop in town...

This cool fountain was nearby and was perfect for some photos! 

All in all, it was a great trip and I am grateful for a family that gets along  and enjoys spending time together.

Plus they tolerate my incessant selfie taking.  😂

Our time all together was less than 24-hours before some of the siblings had to start heading home, but it was a great long weekend celebrating Nate and I'm glad we were able to make it happen.   Here are a few more random pictures: 

Tim and Mom

Nate with his "hot potato" birthday gift that he is supposed to regift as soon as humanly possible.  It's been floating around the family for over a decade now!   The animals live on a cute farm right across the street from Nate.   He really does live in the boonies. 

Speaking of the boonies, check out his church building!    That's it right over next to the Subway...

It's essentially a refurbished warehouse that just his little branch meets in... (everyone else had left by the time church rolled around)

The inside was small, but quite nice...

Apparently we were all a bit tired! 

Here are the birthday goodies we got for Nate at a cute little bakery in Clarksville.

This Piggly Wiggly was the most backwoods grocery store I'd ever been in!  

Yet another selfie...

This was right before heading out...

The view from Nate's backyard...

We may have been a little obsessed with the view (and all the fireflies)!  

All in all...a great time together with family!   💗

Thoughts on Homeschooling, LDSHE, and Adam's Graduation

Adam was in 5th grade when I started homeschooling him {and Ellie}.  I had no idea when we started how it would go or whether we'd keep it up for very long.  All I knew is that I felt strongly that it was the right thing to do and ultimately it ended up being a day by day, week by week, year by year endeavor.   The fact that we kept it up for 8 years was as much a surprise to me as it was to anyone else watching us from the sidelines.  

One of the most common comments I get when people find out we're a homeschooling family is that they could never homeschool their kids, because their kids are too social for that.     I'll tell you that no statement about homeschooling makes me madder.   There seems to be this prevailing notion that homeschooling families sit around the house all day, learning in a vacuum, and hiding out from the world.   Reality couldn't be further from the truth.   My kids are just as social as yours and  their learning is hands-on, individualized,  and engaging.  They interact with people of all ages (rather than only with the artificial age-group settings of school) and honestly, I often feel more like an educational manager, than a teacher most of the time.   My kids each learn very differently than each other and my job has been to find the resources they need to succeed.   

I share all this with you to preface my next statement.   

The last two years of homeschooling were by far our hardest.   Not only did we move away from our beloved homeschooling community in Virginia and start homeschooling in one of the most stringent homeschooling states in the country, but we also got shorted by COVID just like everyone else.   I think a lot of people assumed that we had it easier than them, because of the aforementioned misconceptions about what homeschooling is actually like.   But...just like everyone else...our school year got absolutely decimated.   All our in-person stuff either got canceled or moved to zoom.   All their activities ended prematurely.  AND, because we were new in a state without a lot of homeschoolers or LDS kids,  they didn't have an established group of friends to create a pod with.  We were suddenly living the homeschooling life that people think we live all the time and it was literally about as lonely as lonely gets.   To be completely honest, it was extremely difficult  for all of us, but especially for my very social kids.  

Thank goodness we  had each other.  

We all struggled, but in the process we all grew closer together and made it through.   And, in the middle of all that, Adam got into BYU. 

So, when LDSHE (a homeschooling conference for LDS parents/teens) rolled around this year (in May), we knew we had to find a way to be there.   Because of COVID, they'd moved it from a convention center in Virginia to an outdoor venue in Tennessee...which made it a 9-hour drive for us.   No matter.  We needed to see our tribe again and we needed to properly celebrate Adam's graduation!  

 After two years of isolation and being surrounded by masked strangers, it was a truly emotional experience to be there.   I cried to see my kids have face-to-face (without masks) interaction with people who knew them and loved them!  I ate up every conversation I had with old friends and I just relished being surrounded by people who got me!   No more explaining myself, trying to justify my life decisions, or trying to find my niche among people who really didn't seem to like me all that much (a story for another post).   

Being there was exactly the healing salve we were all craving.   

Pennsylvania was fully locked down until the day we moved away at the end of June, so this little reprieve in May was EXACTLY what we all needed.    

In addition to being schoolmates for the last 8 years, Adam and Ellie are also close friends.  

We did it!!! 

It was so fun to see Adam spend time with his fellow graduates and friends from our homeschooling co-op in Virginia.

Here are a few more pictures from the conference....

His graduation was as validating for me, as a homeschooling parent, as it was for him, a homeschooling student.   It really was a day to celebrate for all of us!  

On the way home, we stopped at New River Gorge National Park...

We went on a hike and soaked in the glorious views...

 

It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful few days!   And then it was time to get back home to packing and moving again.