Family vacations are not necessarily relaxing for me, and all my kids are teens and pretty self-sufficient! But they are enjoyable in many ways - I love to see new places and enjoy the time with my family. So they're good, and a break from the normal routine, but can be quite tiring! I don't think it's selfish to recognize that a truly relaxing time for you would be getting away without any responsibilities. And it's wise to recognize what kind of expectations are reasonable for your family trip.

I'm so sorry to hear this! Praying for your little guy and for your family.

I have tried to time it with a presidential election year, since that seems to raise interest with my students.

Claire, I'm really sorry that things are working out this way for your son's wedding. Praying that you and your family can walk through this with graciousness and peace despite the huge disappointments. And I do hope that one of those dresses from Amazon is just right for the occasion!

Just seeing this tonight - I am praying for your dear little boy, and for you!

I love it!!!

Praying for your family. 💙

I've got nothing in the advice department, unfortunately, but I can (and will) pray. It's got to be so exhausting to deal with night after night! I will pray for your endurance and for a quick solution. 💙

We use a twin air mattress with a foot pump. My boys don't mind sleeping on it and it's pretty easy to set up and take down. The foldable mattress looks comfortable and easy...do you have enough space for it?

You might want to order more than one, because you never know what's going to look and feel best in person!

While it's a thoughtful thing to do if you are the gift giver, I think it's extremely rude to request on an invitation!

Just saw this and I'm so glad you're safe - still praying!

These are some really key thoughts. I think it's important to recognize, especially with teens, that every educational choice has trade-offs. You decide for your family which direction has the best mix for your family. Also, (should I whisper this???) education is not the sum total of our parenting and our family's lives! Who you are as a mom, who you are as a family, and how you parent your children is not just about how/where you choose to educate. Education is one part of the whole, and it does NOT determine everything! The ability to pivot, to adjust to what your children and family need is a great gift you can give to yourself and your children.

I don't think Remember the Days would be appropriate level for high school. Are you aware that the BP Ancients book is the shortest of the BP Companion books? If they don't like this one, the Medieval may be really overwhelming. When I have high schoolers doing BP, they do the reading on their own and answer questions, then we discuss. Is that workable for your students? If you enjoy reading aloud with them, you can pick a read-aloud suggested in BP, which would be something all could be involved in.

If you want to get hands-on with a variety of curriculum, or just expose yourself to many different options, a big convention is worthwhile. If you enjoy live conference sessions and having a concentrated time to just focus on thinking particular topics, a big convention is worthwhile. Also, agreeing with previous posters, the opportunity to talk with vendors and curriculum authors can be really enlightening. There's nothing "amazing" at a convention that you can't find online and also get information about here! But a convention can be good for getting to look at curricula up close and learning about it more in depth. With all we have online (samples, streaming/downloadable webinars and talks), I don't know that there's a lot at a big convention that you can't find online. But there is something about the concentrated time focusing on education/homeschool, time away from the normal routine, and seeing so many options and products in a big vendor hall that can be really fun and energizing. There are some discounts at vendor halls, but probably not enough to be the sole justification for paying for the convention tickets and travel expenses! I love GHC and went for 7-8 years in a row when I still had all my kids at home. It was especially helpful when my oldest was in jr high and starting high school. It helped me find curriculum that fit for the older years, helped me develop my thinking on where I wanted to go with our homeschool, and gave me a great energy and motivation boost in those often difficult years! I haven't been for the past several years due to schedules, and while I'd enjoy going, I don't feel the strong need that I did 5-10 years ago.