Homeschool Convention/Romantic Getaway???

You know you are getting old when a homeschool convention becomes synonymous with a romantic getaway!!!!  Yep, in our 9th year of marriage, we really live it up :-)  I don't know - for his first HS Convention - my sweet husband probably felt like he was out on the wild side.  Let's just put it this way... as with everything in life, it seems that in homeschooling - it takes ALL kinds.  Hahaha!

While at the convention, we both sat in on a session we really enjoyed.  Hal and Melanie Young spoke about Ballistic Homeschooling for Boys. It was insightful and very relevant to our little fellas.  I've added their book Raising Real Men to my "To-Be-Read" pile. 

Together, we walked through the vendor hall.  To say it was a wee bit overwhelming would be an extreme understatement... wow - there were a lot of materials packed in that exhibit hall.  Friday, it was fairly easy to browse, but Saturday, when I was attempting to buy some items, the lines were crazy.  Several things peaked our interest and are now on our future purchases list.  However, I did go ahead and pick up a few books I knew the kids would be using in co-op next year. 

The highlight of the convention for us was comedian, Tim Hawkins.  I have no recollection of the last time I laughed that hard.  I'm not talking chuckles and giggles.  I'm talking real LOL...  laughing so hard my sides hurt, face was red, tears were falling.  Even better, Jon was laughing equally as much.  We were so entertained.  I appreciate good, clean, HILARIOUS comedy.  It is hard to find, but Tim Hawkins truly delivers.  You have to check his videos out on YouTube.  He'll be performing in Lexington in a couple weeks, and we're planning to see him again.  We're assuming his material will be a little different...  a little less homeschool humor and more church humor.  He's so good - we don't want to miss a thing.

Aside from the homeschool specific activities, it really was great to be with MY BOY!  Courtesy of priceline.com, we scored an awesome deal on a nice hotel.  Thanks to unused Christmas/Anniversary giftcards, we enjoyed nice dinners out at The Cheesecake Factory and Red Lobster.  We were able to have some adult only time to talk and process some big decisions being made without being interrupted by a little one needing this, that, or the other.  While I missed my babies (this is the longest I've been away from Jeremiah and Rachel since they've been home), it was truly a treasure to have alone time with the hubster.  In our lives, God is leading, and we are acting in obedience.  Excitement is in the air as we embrace whatever the future may hold.  Even amid the serious conversations, we were able to be goofballs, stay up late laughing, and truly just relax.   

Thanks to my parental units for taking on the task of childcare.  They didn't brave the wild ones for just one night but two - a feat no one has dared try before.  I'm happy to report that all survived, and I do believe there was great fun had.  In fact, Caleb informed me that I am "The Best Mom Ever" (my t-shirt will be made soon) for letting them stay at Mamaw and Papaw's a LONG time.  Hmmm...  still trying to figure out what exactly he wants - probably more overnighters.  Better let my Madre and Padre catch up on their rest first!