Welcoming home Andrew Wilson

Hunter and I spent part of the day today with the crowds of people welcoming home Spec. Andrew Wilson. He lost both of his legs because of a roadside bomb while serving in the military. After undergoing over a dozen surgeries, we came home to Brentwood today for Christmas. What a great experience - the community really stepped up in spite of the cold and rain. You can see video here.

 

We're back after an exhausting move.

After a very stressful move, we are back in action. A small hiccup in that I could not locate Hunter's grammar books or about 5 books on squids he was using for his research project, but ALAS, they have been found. Hunter is a little bummed out; he thought he would be able to skip the rest of grammar if we didn't have the book. Silly kid!! We'll spend this week getting back on our school schedule.

Why can't my son enjoy sports that require some gym shorts and shoes. Instead he decides he wants to get certified in scuba diving - not cheap! Before we commit to this kind of expense, we are going to have him try it out a couple of times.

Hunter's amazing stool - Cub Scouts

Hunter made an absolutely amazing stool for Cub Scouts this week. Very handy with the tools - he must get it from my side of the family!

Hunter also had his first round robin at Ambassador Club - his first speech had to me a impromptu. He selected three topics and had to pick one to give a speech on - he choose America. We will get his evaluation from the judges next week. He also did his first run thru of his Humorous Interpretation - he is doing Zax in the Trax by Dr. Seuess.

The Masterpiece!

This weekend Hunter attended his first Wildcats football with Terry! He had a great time; although it would have been better if the Cats actually played well. There's always basketball.

Sunday, after church, we went to the Nashville Zoo with the Korn family - our friends from California who moved here this summer. Terry took some amazing pictures while we were there.

 Hunter and I have been enjoying our time home. We've had a nice break from traveling. We hooked up with a group of home-schooled boys that get together once a week to hang out and have fun.

Gentry Farm Adventures by Hunter Atwood

Gentry Farm has a lot of fun activities. My three favorites were the corn maze, the pumpkin patch and the barn maze.The corn maze was hard, but really awesome. We got lost and had to cut through the corn to get out. We also got to pick out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. The pumpkin I selected was almost perfect. Finally, I had a blast at the barn maze. it even had two awesome slides. Gentry Farm has so many cool activities, I'll have to go again!

Hunter with friends Sarah and Jack

My Trip to Washington D.C. by Hunter Atwood

We recently visited Washington D.C and had a great time. The first day we went to Great Falls and it was amazing. I had a great time seeing the rushing waterfalls. I enjoyed climbing on the rocks with my friends. The second day I went to the Air and Space Center and walked around the National Mall. I went on a flying simulator. The most exciting part was seeing Capitol Hill. On the third day I went to Mount Vernon, home to George Washington. I saw George Washington's mansion. The children of Washington's slaves had to sleep on the floor! The next day we went to the Smithsonians. I was able to see the Hope Diamond at the Museum of Natural History. At the Museum of U.S. History I saw the Fort Mc Henry flag. There is so much to do in Washington D.C. I would recommend it to everyone.

Jonah, Grayson, Hunter, Ryan and Link

Capitol Hill

Mount Vernon

Hunter with a giant squid.

The Hope Diamond

Kemah Boardwalk - A great day of fun!

Kemah is a great place to spend with friends. I liked the Boardwalk Bullet, the Wipeout and the Pharaoh's fury. The Boardwalk Bullet was the most exciting ride. Going up the big hill is thrilling. I also enjoyed Wipeout. It spun me so much it made me sick.Finally Pharaoh's fury was a delight to go on. When you sit in the back you go really high. Aaahh!!!!! I loved Kemah and would recommend it to anyone.

Kolton, Hunter and Matthew

Plugged sink and playground play

Now that Hunter and I seem to be on the mend from our colds, we are getting back into the swing of school. Yesterday we spent the day at Pinkerton Park and did school on a blanket in the shade. Hunter was also able to get a lot of playing in. When we returned home, the sink in our kitchen made a very odd noise and water began backing up into the kitchen sink. Of course, I screamed in horror while I ran around trying to find the phone number for maintenance. By this time, water (and chunks of who knows what) were spilling onto the floor. As I am running around, I see Hunter with his Grandma Chris blanket and his Lego box making a beeline for the door. I asked him where he was going. He yelled that he was leaving the apartment - he had the things he did not want to see ruined.

Today I asked him why he just grabbed his stuff and ran for the door. He responded that I have always told him not to worry about saving me in the case of a fire, but to just get out of the apartment as soon as he could - so that is what he was doing. I told him if in fact there were a fire, he should not take time to grab things on his way out. He responded that he would leave his Legos, but not his Grandma Chris blanket.

We did school at home and then met some friends at the park this afternoon. Hunter ran around and played in the creek. He managed to get into some Poison Ivy, but doesn't seem to have reacted to it. Tomorrow we will do school at the Brentwood Public Library.

Friday we head to Texas to check on the house and see friends.

Looking through Hunter's school books this week, it is shocking to me that we are quickly approaching mid year.Where has the time gone?  History will take us the longest to finish up this year. As will Math, only because I have supplemented with other Math programs so we are taking more time to get through.

Back from our trip to Indianapolis

We headed up to Indy on Saturday to celebrate Terry's 30th High School Reunion. It gave Hunter some time to hang out with his Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle. We received some sad news on Friday night. Terry's beloved cousin Doris passed away after battling cancer for 4-5 years. She was 53 years old and left behind a husband, two daughters, three grandchildren and her mom. We ended up staying in Indy until Tuesday and drove from Indy to the funeral in Ohio.

Since we were in Indy an extra day, Hunter and I got to see Jaxon! We picked him up in the morning and went to Monkey Joe's. It is an indoor inflatable bounce house. Except for the fact I fell out of one of the

Hunter and Jaxon on one of the inflatables.

bounce houses backwards while trying to take a pictures, we had a fun time. Hunter and Jaxon ran and jumped for about 3 hours nonstop. It was a load of fun!

Tuesday morning we left at about 6:00am for the funeral in Ohio.It was such a beautiful service. I was especially touched by the bus drivers who lined up to pay their respects as the funeral procession went by. Even the construction crews stopped work and removed their hats as we drove by. Good people.

After the funeral, we started on our 6 hour drive back to Nashville. A long day for us all, but especially for Hunter. This morning he woke up with a sore throat. It is our first sick day of the school year. I am trying to pump him up with chicken noodle soup and lots of water.

Jaxon

We will be heading back to Texas in about 10 days. We need to exchange some summer clothes for some fall/winter clothes. When we get back from Texas we will be off to see our dear friends in Washington D.C. with my sister and niece. We may fit one more trip in for October, but then I think we will take a little break from traveling. We'll see.

Adventure Science Center

Today Hunter went in for his polio shot and a blood test. He was AMAZINGLY braze with both. Terry was able to go to the Dr. with us to witness the bravery. We followed up our Dr. visit with a trip to the Adventure Science Center.

Hunter on the Moon Walk

 The Science Center had so many great exhibits. We especially enjoyed the Moon Walk. It allowed us to experience what it was like to walk on the moon. The harnesses were a little uncomfortable, but it was a unique experience.

 The Body Works display also had a lot of great activities. We played a laser game where we were able to shoot at germs. There was also a Grossology quiz that was interesting.

Hunter also went on a roller coaster simulator which took him upside down. He was going to go on it a second time, but his leg started getting extremely sore from his shot. He requested a wheelchair to get him to the car, but the museum did not have any accessible. It was a great day!!!

The most handsome Cub Scout!

Hunter had his first Cub Scout meeting tonight. He was SO excited! We have been having fun getting through school work and learning the area. Wednesday Hunter goes into the Dr. for a blood test and polio shot. Thursday we are off to the Adventure Science Center!!

Ready to report!

Awesome Chicago by Hunter Atwood

I had an amazing trip to Chicago and enjoyed several things. My favorite things were going on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier going on the subway and the Atwood café. The Ferris wheel at Navy Pier was totally cool. I enjoyed going up into the city and seeing the city lights. I relished the time we spent on the subway. It was cool to think we were traveling under the streets. Finally I enjoyed a great meal at Atwood café. I enjoyed eating at a restaurant that was named after my last name. I think everyone should go to Chicago.

Hunter at Buckingham Fountain after the Field Museum

Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

Hunter at the Shedd Aquarium

We made it to Chicago this afternoon and spent the afternoon playing on Michigan Avenue. I finally got my fix of Garrett's popcorn - cheese mixed with carmel of course. Very yummy! Hunter enjoyed the cheese the best. We had dinner tonight at Atwood Cafe - a place Terry and I would eat when we lived here. We also drove Hunter past the flat where we lived when I was pregnant.

After we checked into the hotel, we had a special visitor delivered to our room  - a fish we named "Guppy". Hunter was so excited to have him with us; although he is very concerned for the fish's well being. Tomorrow we are heading to The Field Museum for some fun.

Also wanted to post a photo of Hunter - we went to the park last week before his Mandarin lessons at the Brentwood Library. It was such a nice day out; we had to fit in some time outdoors. He found a small creek toward the back of the park.

Forgot my camera connector in TN while we were in TX so I was not able to post. Attached is a video of Hunter and his friend Matthew playing a new game he received for his birthday called Wii Active Life Explorer.We had a great time in TX seeing friends. We spent the weekend before Hunter's birthday at the Hyatt Lost Pines with his friend Matthew.

Today we are off to Indy (after Hunter's Mandarin classes)for the night and then on to MN to see my mom. All my brothers and sisters will be at home this weekend. Hunter is excited to see his uncle Jack. This week we had our first Ambassador and Debate club meeting - it was very fun. I think we will enjoy this!

Hunter and Matthew at Lost Pines.

Such a long time since I've posted. We've had some issues with our internet provider. Today Oakwood switched our service provider and now we seem to be up and running. We've been very busy. Last week we went to the Williamson County Fair.  Hunter was able to go on all the rides since he is now over 52" tall. Terry and I said he could do anything but the upside down rides. You can see a video of him on the ride here.
We had a great time.

Hunter at the county fair.

At the Buffalo Bill show 

Alison and Hunter on the Banana

On Thursday we went to Nashville Shores with Alison, Thomas and Stacy Korn. Hunter went to kindergarten/first grade with Alison in CA. Their family moved to Franklin this summer - we are happy to have old friends here. Alison and Hunter really enjoyed going on all the water rides; including the Banana which we were AMAZED they went on - it was a pretty intense ride.

Saturday we had a get together with the Pack 14 Cub Scouts. They will begin meeting in September. Today Hunter moved into his 4th grade Sunday School class at church. Lots of fun stuff happening.

Hunter and I will be heading back to Texas on either Wed/Thursday. Hunter asked if he could celebrate his birthday with his friends there. Terry will fly in on 24th and we will all drive back to TN on the 29th so we can be ready to start back to our school activities on the 30th.

Tuesday was a fun day for Hunter! He had his first Mandarin lesson with Zhu Yang (Susan). She is a student at Vanderbuilt University who does Mandarin lessons on the side. What a GREAT teacher for Hunter. She is very kind and covers a lot of things during his lessons. She was impressed Hunter was so ambitious with taking on Mandarin for his foreign language and wanted to know why. He replied, "I like Chinese food."

Tuesday night we went to an informational meeting on the Ambassador Club for homeschoolers. This club does debate, impromptu speeches and a student senate. It is a great club that is held every Tuesday night. The kids do about 1 - 1 1/2 hours of learning and spend time with a mime instructor who works with them on non-verbal communication. Then we break for a potluck dinner, followed by another hour of apologetics. I think Hunter will get a lot out of it.

This club came at a great time. We have been reading about William Wilberforce - he spent a lot of time "foyning" with his friends. Foyning is a game of sorts where you and a group of other people compete to see who can make the group laugh the most by telling a good joke or making a witty comment. This is now all Hunter wants to do. He still has a hard time coming up with material.

Wednesday we got together with our friends from CA who moved to the Nashville area over the summer. It was so much fun for Hunter to get together with their daughter Allison who he went to school with in 1st grade. She also has a little brother, Thomas, who is full of energy. They spent the day swimming - it was 103 degrees. After a full day of swimming, Hunter laid on the couch from about 6pm until he went to bed - he had a little bit of a sunburn.

Today Hunter finished his poster on the Owl Monkey. He had to do a poster for an animal from South America and part of our study of South America. He did a great job finding information on the computer about the monkey and making a poster. I failed to bring scissors with me to TN, so we had to borrow some.

Hunter with his poster on the Owl Monkey

Fun at the pool!

Hunter has been attending a class on Crime Scene Science this week. After class we go to the pool at the Rec Center. Below is a video of Hunter enjoying the slide. There are two other boys in his class. Daxton is 11 years old - he and Hunter hang out at the pool after class. the other boy is Hunter's age and is also home schooled.

Our friends from California who moved out here this summer are back in town. Hunter went to school with their daughter Allison. We are planning to get together with them next Wednesday. We are really excited to reconnect with them.
This weekend we are heading to Indianapolis to see Grandma Lola and Papa Jon - just because we can! It is only a 4 hour drive for us. We are so excited to see them. This will be our first trip there in years where Lola will not have to do our laundry!! I'm sad about that, but I am sure she is happy.
We continue to plug away at school. Hunter has started off the year with a bang. He is especially liking our bible study which is Young Peacemakers - all about how to resolve conflict. His first grammar test is on Friday!

Update of our first week of school

We survived the first week of school!! Hunter is doing a great job and is able to work much more independently this year. He is an amazing student! We did not have school on Friday because Terry took the day off from work - so we played this weekend. It was a fun time and I think we all needed some extra time together. Hunter especially liked going to the local pool on Saturday. Last Thursday Hunter got his new reading glasses!!! Since we will be doing A LOT of reading this year, we were happy to have them.

Hunter working with his new reading glasses

Hunter's school room

Dining room

We are getting settled into our corporate apartment. We told Hunter he will get to experience what it is like living in Manhattan or Japan. I've included some photos for you to get an idea of our living situation. As you can see, we've had to multipurpose many rooms.

Kitchen

Living Room/Hunter's bedroom.

Food Network has nothing on me! Anyone can cook up a great meal with a full kitchen and all the utensils at your fingertips - try doing a full meal with three pans, one baking dish and a spatula. Well, actually we have more than that, but you get my point. Dishes are done every night since there are only four of them!

Master Bedroom/Game Room

Hey - who is that handsome guy? It's Terry hanging out in our living room. I forgot our wireless router from home - BIG MISTAKE! No Wifi here - we are plugged in! Thankfully Terry can use his data plan on his iPad or I would be at Best Buy right now!

We brought a cot for Hunter to sleep in, but he prefers to take all the back cushions off the couch and uses it for his bed. We tell him he has the biggest bedroom in the complex!



Finally the master bedroom which also serves as the game room. Hunter has his Wii hooked up in here. He looks comfortable doesn't he? He did a lot of swimming today with Terry so he is exhausted.

After several months of vacation, today was the first time we were able to go to church as a family since MAY!!!  We had a wonderful time - Hunter enjoyed his class. He reported back that there is another boy named Hunter in his class.

Tomorrow Hunter starts a week-long class called Criminal Investigation Chemistry. It is for 9-12 year old kids. They are going to learn how to use science to solve crimes. Now if you steel his cookie, he'll be able to figure out who did it. This week our friends from CA who moved here this summer are also back in town. We look forward to catching up with them!!

4th grade starts today for Hunter!!

After a long summer vacation, we started 4th grade today in Nashville, TN!! We are going slow the first month of school so we can ease in to everything - today we did math, history, state capitals, reading, and typing. Hunter has also started his Greek Mythology book which is one of the electives he chose for this year. We will also be doing Young Peacemakers, science, grammar and writing. Hunter is also going to be taking Mandarin from a local college student.

Hunter with his new Mario notebook and folder.

Today we also FINALLY ordered Hunter's reading glasses. They should be in later this week - it will make reading much more enjoyable for him.

Limburger cheese, braunschweiger and summer sausage. I am home! Hunter and Jack went for a hike today and then had a fire in the back yard. We are happy to have escaped the heat in Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter with Katherine and Laura at George Ranch

Hunter rock climbing

We are on our last days of school before summer vacation. We have two more lessons in Spelling and Grammar. History will take us well into summer. Last week, Hunter and I went to George Ranch with some friends. The ranch has homes from the 1800's for kids to tour. In each house, they have people dressed in character for that era; they even talk as if they are the people who once lived in the homes. We learned a lot about life then. It was HOT though. Summer has struck early this year - yesterday I think we broke a record with 95 degrees. Today promises to be the same. Hunter and I have tennis lessons at 1:00pm!!! I am so looking forward to heading north!

We found a great indoor rock climbing gym in Houston. It probably has about 30 or more climbs you can do with ropes along with several bouldering options. A very nice place to hang out in the heat! Hunter is able to do the easy and some mid level climbs. He can get to the top rather quickly. Terry and I both trained to do the belaying for Hunter. We have fun!

Hunter had his piano recital earlier this week. I am having some technical difficulties uploading the video, so you will need to view his recital by clicking here. I hope you enjoy it. Hunter did a 3 movement piece which took a lot of time and hard work to learn. We are now finished with piano lessons until Fall.

We've finished third grade math!

In spite of illness, we had our last Math 3 lesson today and will now only be doing review. We made it to Hunter's last Wednesday night program at church last night - but he was not feeling well. Please keep him in your prayers as we have missed some piano lessons with this cold and he has a recital coming up on Tuesday. The poor kid can't play three notes without having to stop and blow his nose!

Hunter's big solo took place on Sunday night at church. You can watch the performance in the video below. He did a great job! Hunter was happy he was able to wear his swimsuit to the performance - the theme was "Under God's Sea".
Next Tuesday is his big piano recital. He has a VERY hard piece, so please keep him in your prayers as he tries to get this piece down.

Hunter is happy to be done with Stanford testing; although he enjoyed the social aspects of it. 
 
We are working on finishing up school. Only 4 more weeks until we leave for summer vacation!!  Hunter finished his typing lessons. We have two more math lessons and will finish Bible on Easter! We have 10 more lessons of Spelling to finish up. This should take us about three weeks. We will be doing grammar and history up until we leave for vacation. We will probably have to finish our last history book while we are traveling. We have one more science unit left which is a review of everything we've learned this year. We should be able to get through it in 2-3 weeks. Hunter is also working on a story he wrote. He is going to type it on the computer to keep his keyboarding skills up. Hunter already started 4th grade cursive, so we will keep doing cursive lessons twice a week, but will take a break for vacation.

Last night we attended a Pack meeting for the local homeschool boy scout pack. We had a wonderful time meeting everyone. Hunter will attend the last couple meetings as a Bear and then will start back in the Fall as a Webelo. He is so excited to get back into scouting - and the pack is wonderful.

Hunter with his friends.

Hunter with Connor and Jacob Brown at Disney

Latest picture of the puppies. Only one left!!!

Please take some time to pray for Hunter this week as he has his standardized testing. He will be testing every day this week from 8am thru 11am. Please pray for clarity, calm and recall. We are only doing history this week as he goes through testing and will start back to our school schedule next week.

Terry's friend, Ben, was in town visiting on Friday. He stayed the night and then we went out to breakfast. On Saturday night we stayed downtown Houston. Terry had reserved two rooms for Ben's visit. They ended up not needing the rooms, but it was too late to cancel them. Hunter's friend Matthew went with us. We got adjoining rooms, so the boys had their own room and we had ours. We went to the Galleria on Saturday night. The above is a video of Hunter on the trampoline there.

Hunter started Mandarin lessons. His Chinese name is Hong Tai. He loves his class.
We are working on our piano recital and our church program solo. It is a one line solo for one of the songs. Four more math lessons until we are finished with third grade math!!!

Hunter at the rodeo. He had a blast!

Last night we went the the Vastine's house to watch the bats come out at night. Hunter takes piano lessons from Mrs. Vastine. Pastor James is the Youth Pastor on the church we go to on Wednesday. they have four kids! You can see a video of the event below; along with some pictures. We had a great time. There is some background noise of my camera and the kids on the video, but you could hear the bats wings flapping as they came out from under the bridge.