Lots of nothing

I was informed yesterday that they were shutting the water off, I had a few minutes to fill my tanks and then after that the only way we could get water was to drive to one of a couple faucets they were leaving on. That's crap! We moved to this spot so we'd have full hookups, and I've already paid for the week. They then said they'll give me some money back so we'll stay the rest of the week. Ugh!Also after this week I won't have Internet. That pushed me to update my blog (check out my favorite unschoolers blogs), and put the boys' four wheeler on the great big bidding site. All I ever need is just a little push.

We made another quick trip to Iowa, Fort Dodge this time and then spent the rest of the weekend relaxing. Yesterday a friend from Fonda came out to visit, bringing three of her four kids which thoroughly harassed the poor hamster. He only managed to get one bite in. Better luck next time.

After spending hours trying to get the new PCI card for the desktop to work I've finally decided to throw it away and get a new one, the wifi card, not PC (although I would love to trade it for another laptop).

The microwave also took a dump today.

On the bright side, my new realtor likes my house and says it's "so cute" and very clean. I heart her. My last realtor did nothing but give me grief and tell me how it wasn't good enough.

I've decided to get rid of my Excursion. As much as I love this truck, I've fallen in love with another. I'll know tomorrow if we have a deal to trade it off for two new (to us) vehicles, a truck for Joey and a car for me. I know I was the one that said we only need one vehicle and I was the one that sold Joey's Jeep before we left, but really....What was I thinking?

Going home & staying home

License Plate
Originally uploaded by jakesmome.

We made a quick trip to Iowa to pick up our personalized plates that came in. We are now officially an Unskool Bus! The kids stayed at the farm and played with their cousins while Joey and I ran a bunch of errands. I got to see Mel and then we ended the day with a nice visit with Rob, Angie and the kids. It was good to see them, it had been a long time. They built a little barn in their backyard for Angie's "half pint goats" and the windows for her barn are old barn wndows that I used to use for picture frames. It was neat to see how they were recycled back to what they were intended for.


It's pretty cold these days so no one wants to go outside and play. Luckily for us the bus offers new creative ways for us to enjoy our days.
A little window art:
Self expression:
Homemade bumper sticker:

Unschooling through Life

Last night I wanted to get to bed a little earlier than usual so I asked the kids to find something quiet to do so we could rest, since they weren't ready for bed yet. Jewel (5) decides to draw. Great, see ya later. Minutes later....How do you spell Tinker? T, she runs away to write it down, then comes back. I, run and write. N...shaking the bus as she runs. K...skipping away. E...and so on. This went on for two hours, and although I'd like to rest I couldn't deny her her desire to learn. A friend once asked me "How will they learn to write if they're unschooled?"....... "How can I keep them from it??" is a better question. All three of the kids have learned/are learning to read and write with never having a lesson, and more importantly...enjoying every second of it.

Speaking of Tinker, she hasn't returned. The minute we pulled into this campground someone accidently let her out, which was OK, but then Joey started the bus back up to level it out and the loud thunder of the engine scared her so much she took off running. She ran a couple hundred yards away under someone else's truck for safety. (I was up at the Office when all of this happened). At one point Jake got her and tried bringing her back but she was still so scared of the bus and lack of hiding spaces that she jumped out of his arms and ran again. I decided to let her chill a bit and I'd get her once all the commotion died down. The truck she was hiding under took off before I could get her and now we haven't seen her since. The other morning someone knocked on the door asking if we'd found her yet, and if not, she thinks she's found her. I took off running in my jammies, but it wasn't her. :( We're all still really sad and Jake, Jewel and I get pretty emotional at times, but we have come to accept the fact that we will never see her again. She was such a cool cat, a perfect fit for our family, and will forever be ours, with us or not.

S Sioux City, NE

We moved campsites over the weekend and now along with full hook ups we scored a wi-fi signal. Yah me! My view here isn't as nice as it was along the river but I'm not complaining.

Since I last blogged we've had a couple visitors. First my cousin Amy and family that moved into our old farm house. There's nothing quite like "cousining".
Hopefully we'll be trick or treating with them in a couple weeks.

Heather and family came out next. Up until they came out it had been beautiful weather but of course when we have fun plans to hang outside it's freezing cold. The kids didn't mind too much once Heather broke out the smores! After the fire died the kids tried reviving it with a bike pump. It worked for a while. :)

The cold temps broke for a day so the kids and I went on a bike ride...to Iowa.
back to Nebraska now Come on Jonas, don't give up yet!

Albuquerque to Nebraska

Just a quick post to upload my new picture story. It's my wrap up of the last few weeks starting right after the Conference in ABQ, up to arriving here at camp along the Missouri River. I hope you enjoy the video :)

I removed the video but you can see it here.