Tropical Storm Isaac Update

Evidently Isaac decided to follow the European model and not hit much of FL (besides the Keys) at all. Good for us, potentially devastating for Louisiana if it does land there. The up side is that Tampa is pretty much unaffected so I plan to skate on Thursday.

The boys are making great strides on their piano lessons! They are working on Fur Elise and some Christmas songs (thinking ahead) and have nearly mastered Ode to Joy as you can see in the video.

Divagirl has completed her Reading Lesson textbook with flying colors which puts her at a 3rd grade reading level. I am so proud of her! She's just picked up the first of the Boxcar Children books and will hardly put it down. Unless its to play Presidents vs Aliens on the ipad... its pretty addicting. I feel confident in saying that she no longer has any reading issues.

I figured out the ordering issues I had with Am@zon and I do have to commend them, if the books ship from KY we get the shipment the very next day. Amazing! I found some delightful books I plan to use for history with Divagirl (now that she's a reader) entitled "...If You Lived With_____". Its a whole series and I got several on Native American life in different regions as well as Colonial times and Revolutionary life. They are very informative and will hopefully bring American history to life for her.

Hurricane Isaac

With the possibility of Hurricane Isaac passing through and causing rain, wind and flooding along the coastline from Miami to Louisiana we've been battening down the hatches for potential external flying hazards. We should be perfectly fine here even if we lose power since we have a well and a generator and enough food for an apocalypse. It does mean, however, that I most likely won't get to skate this week since Tampa may or may not get hit hard depending on whether or not the American model or European model for storm tracking is correct.

Either way we've been getting lots more accomplished on the RV since the weather has finally been rain-free and beautiful for the last couple of days. I'm sure our days are limited though for this week which adds a bit of pressure to the mix. I'm not keen on pressure. Up next we need to install the carpet in the cockpit area.

Next week officially starts our full schedule of lessons for the kiddos. We've been in the swing of things for a month now but only in limited subjects: Reading, Cursive, Writing for the older boys, Music, Art, History and Mine Craft. Oh wait, Mine Craft isn't a subject! Although more time is spent on that game than on their lessons I fear. (Not for much longer...<insert maniacal laugh>mwuahaha)

On a related note, I'm a little miffed at Am@zon because I've been trying to purchase some of the free e-classics and free e-textbooks I've had on my wish list for school (some I already downloaded, some I was on the fence about) and now they are no longer free or they are in a format that can not be downloaded in the US. What!? Are you kidding me? We are really making an effort to conserve resources and adhere to weight limits. With limited access to libraries we can check out books from on the road (browsing will be unlimited) I was counting on finding suitable alternatives for the Kind!e. Boo, hiss Am@zon.