Winding Roads

The other day we were driving down the interstate in a hurry to get from Shreveport to our home in Bunkie. We had just recently heard John Taylor Gatto speak at our LPL Convention and Vinson and I had both started reading his book “Dumbing Us Down”.
I realized on this journey home that public school education (the education Vinson and I both received as children) was a lot like driving down the interstate. It’s a straight shot from point A to point B. You rarely turn off course and the scenery is much the same throughout the entire trip. After awhile it becomes somewhat mind numbing.
As I sat thinking about it I came to the conclusion that homeschooling (my children’s education) is much like the vacations Vinson and I take. We tend to take the roads less traveled. They are windy, hilly and you never know what you will find at the end. The scenery is much more beautiful and we stop more often to look at interesting and unknown sights. Overall the trip is just more enjoyable, rewarding and much more memorable.
*I am pictured above with John Taylor Gatto*

Hectic Weekend

Our weekend started out on a bad note. I received a phone call Thursday afternoon from my brother telling me my dad was on his way to the hospital because he was having chest pains. We drove down to Lake Charles to see about him. When we arrived they told us his blood sugar was really high and they were taking care of it. After a few hours we headed back home and my brother promised to keep me updated.
Friday morning we packed for our trip to the LPL convention in Monroe. My brother called me while we were on the road and said the doctor had performed a scope and found one of his arteries to be 95% blocked. They put a stint in and kept him for two days to make sure everything was alright.
We arrived in Monroe after lunch and started preparing the hotel meeting room for the Friday night social party. We were able to get everything set up early enough that Vinson and I got to go for a swim in the hotel pool. It's been a long time since I was able to swim without worrying about the kids.
The convention went very well. We had about 40 people in attendance. Greg Kahn gave a Strategic Planning session to help us define our goals as a party. It was very in depth and gave us an idea of what we need to do to make the party more successful. Our banquet was very nice. John Taylor Gatto gave a speech about Liberty. He is in the picture above with me. You can find more info on Gatto here: http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/index.htm It was nice to have someone validate much of what I am coming to realize in our education system and our government. After his speech T. Lee Horne, III gave a short speech and we were able to watch the commercial for his campaign. At the conclusion of the banquet Vinson handed out awards to people in the party that have worked hard these last two years. I was surprised when he awarded me with a Lights of Liberty award. It's nice to know someone recognizes the effort I've put into the party. The kids were very well behaved during the banquet. I was very proud of them.
Sunday we headed to Shreveport to see Vinson's family. We stayed overnight and went to the airport Monday to pick up his aunt who was arriving from California. We had a nice but short visit with aunt Sherry and Vinson's grandparents. Late in the evening we headed back home to thankfully sleep in our nice comfortable beds.

Preparations

We spent the day in Alexandria running errands and getting what we need for the LPL Convention. Now we just have to pack, get through the Convention, a visit with Vinsons aunt from California and then maybe I can breathe for a few days (probably not but one can hope).
I was hoping that after a full May calendar I would get a slower June but it looks like June will be just as busy. We already have most of our weekends planned and almost every day that Vinson is off. I don't know how I'm going to make it through next year when the Governor election gets into full swing.
The children are finally getting to an age where they are a bit more cooperative when things get hectic. It's either that or else we've learned how to bribe them into cooperation. They will actually be attending the Convention banquet with my mother-in-law (I'll be crossing my fingers). We've already discussed what the banquet will be like and how we expect them to behave (i.e. no yelling, jumping, burping, hitting, kicking......) so here's hoping they can remember all of that.

Blast from the Past

This has been an interesting day. Earlier this week I asked Vinson about our friend Gary Nolan. He ran for the Libertarian Parties Presidential nomination but unfortunatly did not get the win. While he was running a filmmaker was taping his progress to make a documentary. Well today we recieved an email from Gary about the documentary. It will be premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival. There is a slight possibility that we may be somewhere in this film. Who knows..
On another note we recieved a phone call from a friend we had in the 1990's. It's been over 10 years since we last saw him. We were so surprised to hear from Steven Lopez. He is doing great and he and Vinson talked for a long time. Vinson and I had wondered over the years where Steven was and what he was doing. Hopefully we will see him sometime in the next year or so.

Catching Up

I haven't blogged in a while. I guess life just got in the way. We have been really busy with family, homeschool, work, politics and everything else.
Today was no different. We spent the morning in Alexandria getting supplies for the LPL State Convention which is taking place next weekend. Then we spent the afternoon running errands in Bunkie. I had the fun job of going to the eye doctor. After many weeks of itchy, bloodshot, and sometimes swollen eyelids he tells me my eyes are just irritated and gives me some prescription eye drops (not cheap). I hope this works because it's really starting to bother me.
Work on the T. Lee Horne, III campaign is going well. We were in two parades this month and are having a social party at the convention. We are planning several more events for June.
The kids are enjoying the warm weather. We've moved our homeschool meetings to parks for now while the kids are able to enjoy the outdoors. I am currently working on a homeschool yearbook movie for the homeschool group. It's a tedious job but I'm having fun doing it. It will be a nice way for the kids to look back at the activities they took part in over the past year.