Life at Oak Grove

In a week tomorrow,we will drive in the sun and go travel for a month.   Yeah!   I can't wait to see Pennsylvania and bring my kids to various special places.

On the Monday, we will visit Easton and the crayola factory and Nazareth with the guitar factory.   Fun!  That evening we will meet with Joshua from Club Worship and chat with him.  Later that week, hubby will gowith our team to an event at Club Worship.  

So if you happen to read this, please pray for safety on the road and that the kids won't get to cranky on the long days of travel we will do....   About 4 or 5 so far ranging from 3 1/2 hours to 8 hours the first day.   Driving to PA will be the longest one.    The PA to MA, MA to ME, ME to NB, NB to PEI...   Then there will be the drive back.

The trailer is now on the street right now.   Hopefully, we won't get a neighbor who will complain and then we get a ticket...   

I'm totally pumped for vacation time.

Oh BTW Alexandre officially finished school grade 1 last Friday morning.   Yeah!

Okay... so I am planning our trip and discovered this interesting website while looking for a chips factory to visit in PA...   Factory Tours USA list the different places where you can go to visit how things are made....   WoW!   This is super interesting since as homeschoolers I want my kids to learn.   So PA has tons of things to check out... but we are there only for one week so I guess this means that someday we will have to go back *grin*...

But I discovered a guitar factory that you can visit in Nazareth, PA which is located close to Easton, PA. Easton is where you can find the Crayola factory.    Since we are planning to go to the Crayola factory and my husband got himself a guitar last year... well I though we could do a detour to Nazareth...   

Since we will be driving through Massachussetts and Maine, I did my search for these states as well.   Discovered that there is a Cape Cod Chips factory near Plymouth... Yeah!

Mmmm!   Where to start?   I was planning to finish school last week but there is still about  40 pages to do in one French workbook.   Have I misjudge?   Not really.   We had appointment this past week and somehow we were not able to finish.   I am confident that this will be done this week.    On the other hand we did finish the workbook of English...  Yeah!  

On Friday afternoon, we decided to drive to Logos Land Resort to finish prepping the trailer for our BIG trip.    We needed to figure out how to level it and stabilize it.   Boy did it took some time.   I most say my kids where really good at being patient - thanks for Adventures in Odyssey.    We slept there... and came back the next day because we had a H.E.A.T. service on Saturday.   At first it was only us and a couple from our team.   So Rob had decided not to preach his sermon and keep it for the service in two weeks.  Then another team member came - he just came back from a mission trip in Guatemala.  So he told us about the trip.   By this time two gentlemen were sitting and listening.   Hubby and a team member went to speak with them.   Suddenly, our dear pastor from our mother church arrived.   He came as promised...  fresh from Virginia and leaving soon for Cochrane, AB.   He had went to a church planting conference and he shared what he learned there.   WoW!   Can't wait to hear more when he gets the DVDs.

All the while I was experiencing with colors...   You see I discovered something hidden in me - drawing/painting.   So yesterday I was drawing with pastels.    I did two different art pieces.    Two weeks ago I did another one.  

Also these days I am experiencing with hair fashion.   My hair is getting longer and I can now put little things in it.   I am having fun.   My latest addition is the famous b-tube from The Bay that has been created for the canadians athletes while they go to the Olympics in China.    You can do various things with it which is interesting.  

AND I am starting to plan for the trip - clothes wise...   Next week-end we are bringing back the trailer with us.... 

...  we are in the last few stretches of homeschool for grade1.   A year of discovery...   Am I planning to continue?  Yes.   But next year I will have a grade 2 and a junior kindergarden.  mmmm!   I wonder how it will be.  But I don't want to worry about it.   Not now... as I am finishing this first year of homeschooling.   It was nice to have Alexandre at home.   He was and still is a big help with Jasmine, Jérémy and Dominic.    He learned to read, to add and substract, to be patient when I was busy with the other ones, to install software with his dad, to install doorknobs with his grand-papa... the list goes on and on.   Lately, he always asks me if he can go downstairs to help grand-papa and mon oncle Jean-Marie (my husband's uncle).   You see we are finishing the basement as I write this...   The walls are up, the sound proof is installed, electricity is done, plumbing is done...   So Alexandre was able to see the progress of the basement a little bit more than if he would have been in school.   One day, he went down to help finishing the electricity.   Don't worry he was not touching the cables but he helped and learned how to do it.  Thanks to grand-papa.   Now, he is asking me if he can help to paint.   Mmmmm!    I think we might be away when we arrive to this step.  

A few weeks ago, we finished Math U See Alpha.  We also completed numerous workbook in French as well as the reading program.   He likes to read thank goodness.   That was something I really enjoyed doing when I was young.   We got a bunch of Geronimo Stilton that we will give him slowly...  Got a few interesting ones for the summer...   I want him to be able to read in both official languages - French and English.   The Geronimos are in English but I do have books in French.  So I am bringing a bunch on travel.

General Mills is giving away some free books when you buy some specific cereals.   We got a bunch of Cheerios and got 5 codes.   I ordered 4 in English and 1 in French.   Got three so far... waiting for the other 2.   I ordered a Nancy Drew, a Hardy Boys, Frindle, Spiderwick Chronicles volume 1 and a book about learning your alphabet with Barbie (for Jasmine). 

Oh Toy testing season is starting.   I went to pick up my first test - Teach my Toddler  - Looks interesting.   I sat down with Jérémy and Dominic today to do the colors...  Tried to do the forms as well but honestly the attention span wasn't there anymore.    I am doing both languages...   or only French.   The whole thing is in English.   However, I would like that for the alphabet they would use the animals that you can say in both languages.  

- to open our trailer...  only 3 days left.

- for Jasmine to be 5 months.... only 5 days left.

- to celebrate our 10th anniversary....  only 23 days left

- to go on VACATION!!!....   only 25 days left.

- to celebrate Alexandre's 7th birthday....   only 42 days left.

Time goes by fast... Unbelievable.    I still need to find some camping ground for stop we will make on the way.

In PA, we will visit Heidi and her family , go to Lancaster, Hershey, Philadelphia, Easton for the Crayola factory,... and hubby will go to Club Worship in Reading to check it out.  Oh!  And I also want to see an Amish farm and house.   I'm fascinated by their simple life.

After some fun time in PA, we will drive to Massachussetts...  direction Plymouth where the first Pilgrims arrived and where the First thanksgiving happened.   I am fortunate to have found a book on Squanto and I am planning to talk about with the kids.   Fun.  We are also planning to go to Boston.

From there, we will drive to Maine and visit some childhood places I went.    York with the GoldenRod store where you see salt water taffy being done (I told hubby that we need to stop there for the kids!!!), Kennebunkport, Kittery and Freeport...   Pantagonia store here I come... LOL

From there, we will drive to NB.   We are planning to stop around Saint-John for a few days...   Then we will drive to PEI.   I would like to drive around the island and see the potato museum, lighthouses, Anne's of Green Gables, Souris,...  try Malpeque oysters - mmm not sure I will like but I will try, celebrate Alexandre's birthday on the island, go to the CCSB conference in Charlottetown.

Then it will be the drive home.    Home sweet home.  I wonder how we will stand the one month trip.   Surely hope we will enjoy it - even with 4 kids.  I am packing a box of books and things like that for the trip to keep them busy.  

It might be our first and last trip with the trailer - with the gas prices going up like they are...   We shall see how much it will cost us.   We will keep track of it.  Oh man!   I can't wait to discover new places with my kids.   Hopefully we will be done school by then!   I'm confident we can make it.   My deadline of this week might be tight but next week... we should be done.   Yeah!

Yep!  My house is a construction zone these days.   It will be a week tomorrow since it's started.   I'm a bit sick of hammer and saw but it has to be done... so I suck it up!  

It is taking shape though....  Love it!   Can't wait to have the walls all done.   We will have an extra bedroom, an office area, a rec room, a bathroom and closets as well as storage.   One specific storage will be for the comic collection we have.    There is a wall next to it...  Might ask my father-in-law to paint it white so I can paint some heroes on it...   It's tempting.  Will I have the patience though?  

Then when this is done... Rob will bring back his office downstairs.   The old room of Alexandre and Dominic will become my office which means I need to get the walls painted...    Mmmm!   Then even though their clothes will stay there as well as their desks, my office will go up and I will have a scrapbooking area.   Yeah!

Once my office is upstairs, my actual office will become the schoolroom...   Painting again here!   Maybe convincing the hubby that a wood floor be nice - especially for crafting time.

I'm excited about it - even though I feel extra tired lately.   

Then when all this is done... maybe we could paint the dining room...   probably not this year but a girl can dream no?

We needed a place to eventually do some training and other kind of meeting for our church...  We are renting the basement of a church downtown our city and it's great but if we want to do some team training, well... we had nothing.

And as a business, we have many contracts going on this year (compared to last year that is...) and we were planning to pay off some debt to be more free.

Well, God put the training area in our hearts...  and we prayed about it.   Bottom line is that we do have an unfinished basement.   Soooooo..........    we are finishing the basement.    Debt is particially paid, the rest can wait a bit.    Hubby and his father will work on the basement.   Nothing fancy. 

We will have a bathroom, an office for hubby, an extra bedroom and a rec room which can be transformed in an office area for the employee when needed or a training area for church.  We will also have a wall dedicated to the comics we owe!

Now, I need to pick some colors for the walls as my mother-in-law will keep an eye open on sale or the kind of situation that someone ordered a color and didn't like it...   I'm not picky - really.   Even though I want something that I would like.  

A while back my friend Heidi had a contest on her blog.   I won the gift certificate at Little Piddles!!!

After much debate about what buying...  I had picked something that unfortunately was not available anymore.   Soooooo I picked a tutu and was willing to pay the difference and the shipping.   It was planned to get it shipped to my friend who lives in PA since I was going to visit her in June...

Well, I got blessed like no tomorrow.   Not only I just received the package at home but they waved the extra charges and the shipping.   How nice from them!   Thank you so much for the nice gift...

Jasmine needs to grow up a bit before putting this tutu... but I am certain she will like it.    For now, I will keep it safely in my wardrobe until she is 2-4 years old.   Right now she is 4 months... quite a few months to go before she can wear it.  

I love it.  So nice in turquoise with the brown and turquoise ribbon.

Once again, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, Heidi, Little Piddles and Fuzzy Me!!!!

I'm so into finishing the school year that I am not updating my blog as much as I should probably.  Then we will be gone on vacation (and I can't wait for it - I need one!!! real bad!!!!) that probably this blog won't be update as often as I would like....  But here is what happened since last week.

First - I finally told my mom about the church plant.   Oh she knew about it from two or three years ago but now it is a reality and the truck has been decked out promoting the church.   Well I expected her reaction and I got it all right....  when I hung up I had a black cloud over my head but I didn't realized it....    Got a really bad day on Friday   - that's when I realized that the black cloud was there....  borderline depression. 

But my friend in Quebec facebooked me and asked if they could come and visit....  Her common-law husband had to meet a client so she was coming down with the kids.   Sure why not?   Tried to invite her to church on Saturday night but they didn't come.  That's okay.    They came for Sunday's lunch.   We had a grand time...   Then supper time came around with my brother-in-law and his family.   Monday, my friend came back with the kids while her hubby was in meetings all day.

It was nice to see them as it has been three years I think we saw them.   We need to make a better effort.   Now they live in St-Jean-sur-le-Richelieu.... near a place where they make the most fabulumouse cheese (see I am reading Geronimo Stilton .....).   

Tuesday, my dear husband drove the RV back to get the sway control installed.   Wednesdsay he drove the RV back to our spot in Logos Land with his mom.   They got stuck on the way because of no gas in the truck...  Hubby learned that when you pull the RV - if the light comes on, go put gas right away.  Like he says - He is learning on the job.... LOL

Gymnastics afternoon on Wednesday went okay....  Apart from Jérémy running around to do it too but he is not allowed.  Try to explain this to a 2 year old...   Good thing I needed to go to Costco for toilet paper.   There I found a book on drawing that I bought and told hubby to give to me for Mother's day....   LOL Typical, I buy the stuff that I like...   Anyhow, I can't wait to have it....

Hubby is formatting his old PC (which is not so old afterall) because he got a new one.   So his old one will go to me and he will redo the one I am using right now and set it up for the kids....   OUF!    Anyhow, my new PC will be red like a ladybug.   Cool!   Love it.  

Oh I got myself some Mary Jane Crocs... Fushia color....  LOVE THEM!  I had a pair of regular Crocs since December - thanks to my mom.   I needed something to put my feet in it since they were soooooo swolllllllen.    Love them.   Got some jibbitz to decorate them too (including the ladybug obviously!).    Hubby got himself a pair of close Crocs and a pair of sandals one.   I had bought him some jibbitz with Spiderman, Superman and Batman.   They are now on the sandals ones...   Nice!    We had bought a pair for Alexandre when a sport store was closing...  Dominic wanted one too!   We went to the store this week and got him a pair of Lighting McQueen ones (only pair there with his size believe it or not!!!).   Then when I went back yesterday for my Mary Jane ones, I bought another pair size 10-11 which were on sale.   Too big for Jérémy right now - he wears 8-9 but eventually.   Can't buy some for Jasmine right now.   Her feet are too small.   But this little girl will get some eventually - Mary Jane style.   As you can see we are now a Crocs addicted family...   No really, hubby likes them because they don't smell if you sweat in it (like other pairs of sandals he owned in the past...).  So the Crocs are coming with us on vacation!

Now I need to plan our stop to Boston...   I am thinking of sleeping in Plymouth as it is where the first pilgrims arrived in America.   And there is a nice coastal drive near by.   Boston being only 44 minutes away.

Thanks to our membership with museums here in the city, we can go to museums in the States and in Canada for free....   So there is a few in Philadelphia and Boston we can go too for free.   We will do that.   We also ordered the Entertainment books for Pennsylvania to use coupons for the things we want to visit.    The great thing is that they are on sale for 9.99$ right now.    Super!

Yes... yours truly can't wait to go on vacation.   Pennsylvania and Prince-Edouard-Island have been a dream for such a long time....