Not sure if these two books are exactly what you are looking for as they are set in the early 500's in Constantinople, but perhaps. . . Belisarius - The First Shall be Last and Belisauius - Glory of the Romans by Paolo Belzoni

I have four recommendations (though I am not from Aus or NZ!). The Switherby Pilgrims by Eleanor Spence (Australia 1820's) sequel: Jamberoo Road by Spence (Aus 1830's) Weka-Feather Cloak: A New Zealand Fantasy by Leo Madigan (Catholic, fantasy, funny, great read!) Drovers Road Collection: Adventures in New Zealand by Joyce West (1930's)

Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage looks nice in my kitchen with white trim and wood floors :). We also have an accent wall in the connecting family room in SW Connected Gray (the name always throws me off - but it is a darker, sage green!)

We enjoyed these two books about koalas: Finding Home by Sandra Markle Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under by Marianne Berkes

London has so much to offer! As others have mentioned, in the city there are shows and fun shopping. If you are a history buff, London is a gold mine! London Bridge, the Tower of London, the churches (if you are Catholic or interested in English Catholic history there is SO much to see - Tyburn for example, or St. Etheldreda's - oh I could go on and on), . . If you enjoy shows, a Shakespeare play at the Globe is a must! Some fun things to do outside of the city: Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare), castles (Warwick is great), Stonehenge, the city of Bath. European cruises are wonderful, especially for a first-time visit. My absolute favorite port is Venice (but one day is not enough!). I am assuming you don't prefer a Baltic cruise as you mentioned warm weather. . . But St. Petersburg is incredible to visit. Mediterranean cruises have so many options. Rome was a must for us (Civitavecchia port), Naples (Pompeii) is fun to explore, We have not yet gone East - but I drool over brochures for Istanbul - Greece - Holy Land cruises! Can you tell I LOVE European cruises! Have a wonderful trip! edited to add Globe

Target - the C9 brand has been great for my kids!

I don't think I saw Memoria Press mentioned. I used it in kindergarten and 1st grade for my current 2nd grader. Workbooks, tracing/writing, phonics readers, plus MCT phonics and suggested reinforcement activities. My older children all did well with Hooked on Phonics (no writing). I am using the same materials I used when my almost 20 year old was 3.5 years old!

We had a 2009 GMC Savana (12 passenger van) for 3 years - and now we love our GMC Yukon XL! The van was pretty awful for me to drive. Mileage around 11-12 mpg, lots of bumps and rattles, tough to park (at least for me!) - but lots and lots of space for our 8 children. Now with 2 in college next year, we have more than enough room in the 8 passenger Yukon XL. Enough leg and shoulder room for 2 tall teenage boys plus all the little ones. After driving the van, the Yukon feels like a luxury vehicle - so quiet and smooth - and somehow much easier to park than the same length van (wheelbase different though). Our long-term average mileage on the Yukon is 16 mpg. One more thing - we had a nine passenger Yukon XL in the past. The front bench had a middle seat (very small and not very comfortable for longer rides!) which folded down as a console. Nice if you want/need the extra seat.

Ok - so I don't watch TV. At all. But this (wonderful) board convinced me to watch Sherlock. I started last week watching at night, on my iPad, with earphones, in HD, in bed. Heavenly. I am absolutely hooked! Last night I settled in to watch Series 2 Episode 2 and it is no longer on Amazon Prime! I looked through old threads, and I did find a reference to watching on the Simply June blog. Is that the best option for viewing besides purchasing them? I would prefer to watch on my iPad in HD - but I could easily be convinced to watch on my desktop or through my Roku. Thanks in advance!

Lots of great information already! I will add that they do smell - even with daily small cleanings, and once per week full-cage scrub down. Ours absolutely love to be outside - eating grass and dandelion leaves for hours in the warm months. I am laughing at the comment about the one swimming - we have to try that! Our two female piggies only "like" to be held when they are being fed parsley, carrots, lettuce, red peppers etc. They love to hide under you (and sometimes climb up your shorts) when they are outside. My two children (ages 11 and 13), who each have one pig, absolutely detest the work of cleaning the cage - they alternate weeks but it causes a lot of tension around here. My older children don't have anything to do with the pigs at all. My younger children sometimes play with them. The six year old is really good with them.

My children still talk about the "blue tacos" we ate several times from street vendors while in Mexico City - and we were there 5 years ago! We also smash our sandwiches the way they did in Mexico (on a hot grill with lots of stringy white cheese). Other than that - gelato anywhere in Rome and almost any loaf of bread in France!

This one is from an old weight-watchers cookbook! One that my husband and I really enjoy - and so do most of our children. Asian Turkey Burgers (makes 4 large burgers) 1 lb ground turkey breast 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce Broil, grill, or fry. We eat them on an English muffin half, toasted.

What is your reason for studying Latin? If you want to speak it and know some vocabulary, RS might be ok. If you want all the benefits of Latin study - I would look elsewhere. What do you think of First Form? I wasn't in love with Latina Christina (mostly because of the DVD's!), but MP sure knows how to teach Latin, IMO.

I would calculate it 32 x 6 x 4 as it is a volume problem. My answer is 768.

The Spartan - I have recommended this book to so many people as it covers every major battle in the Greco-Persian Wars (except maybe the final sea/land battle of Mycale, I forget if that one is covered at the same time as the final land battle of Plataea in the book). The Athens/Sparta differences are highlighted and many names are dropped. Highly recommended! I believe Theras might be better for a little younger reader than The Spartan. Theras would cover the Athens/Sparta differences, but not sure about the wars.

B16 is an exceptionally holy, wise, and humble man of God. I feel so blessed to have him as our Holy Father! I appreciate that the "scandal" talk has quieted down in this thread - thank you. "Come Holy Spirit. . ."

I am sorry that I do not know how to link to a past post - but in May 2012 there was a thread with a number of recommendations for the War of 1812. Do a search for "1812" and it shows up about 17 down on the list or so. Hope that helps! Off the top of my head - Rhoda Blumberg's "What's the Deal" is good for some Napolean information. The picture book "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Peter Spier is one of our favorites too.

I thought of one more - by Showell Styles, the same author as the Midshipman Quinn series - The Flying Ensign, subtitled Greencoats Against Napoleon. It is actually 2 books in one volume which I purchased from Bethlehem Books.

I have a few recommendations, though some may be for a little older readers. What's the Deal by Rhoda Blumberg (non-fiction mostly about the Louisiana Purchase, but a lot of historical information about Napoleon). The next two are French Revolution - and I don't recall if there is much about Napoleon: Escape from France by Welch and In Search of Honor by Hess.

There is an article at Memoria Press which goes into Latin and math developing the mind that sort-of hits on what you are talking about. Sounds like it might be the opposite of what you were talking about though. http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/apology-latin-math.html Sorry if it turns out to be a waste of your time - I recall appreciating the article years ago!

When my oldest was in middle school, she was enrolled in a K12 virtual academy. They had access to the Grolier Online Encyclopedia for Kids (I believe it was partnered with Scholastic, but I am not sure). I just remember being thrilled with that resource for her! It gave her a lot of practice using the internet to look things up - with no worries at all about inappropriate content. If I remember correctly, you have to pay for this outside of a virtual school. Perhaps the local public schools have access and a neighbor may be able to give you a tour (would it be ok for someone to give you their password - not sure about that one???).

In case others are wondering, I didn't open the shrink-wrapped package! Can anyone else chime in with what is on the set of cards?

I bought the set from PHP - never used them! I would be happy to send them to you if you pay for shipping. I will send you a PM in case you are interested.

Cupid and Psyche by Craft is a good one!

For some more traditional picture books take a look at Memoria Press and their supplemental read aloud lists for 1st-3rd grades. We love all of these! Tanya on the MP forums has stated that at Highlands Latin School they do the book as a read aloud in the grade listed, then have copies of all the previous year's read alouds in the next year's classroom for the children to read on their own (hope that made sense!).