My thoughts exactly! I'm trying not to laugh out loud and wake up the entire household. :lol: I do hope you're able to resolve the issues very soon, MurphyMartha.

We bought a firm mattress and put a three inch latex topper on it. Wonderful! We've only had it a couple years, so we've yet to see how it will hold up over time.

We live next door to my in-laws, and I'll just agree with what Liz said here. We love living by them, and our kids love it too. But my in-laws are very laid back, not overbearing, have good boundaries. Easy people to live next to. We lived about a half mile away for 10 years before we built this house, so we were pretty confident it would be fine.

:grouphug: Hugs and prayers for you. It sounds so hard for all of you.

If you're concerned about your vehicle, it would be a good idea to check your route to Cody (don't know what direction you're coming from). We drove Sheridan to Cody and a good chunk of it was through the mountains and pretty remote! As far as Yellowstone...I have many thoughts! We were there last summer for several days. Yellowstone is awesome, so much to see there. And I will disagree with Carol and say that you should learn about the geology before you go, it will help you understand and appreciate the park more! The main thing about Yellowstone is that it's so big, so everything is spread out. Since you are staying in Cody, you will have a drive to get to the park, about an hour just to the park border. It will be okay, but it will be helpful to plan ahead! If you want to see most of the highlights of the park, I would suggest sectioning it by areas. I would drive to the farthest point in the park you want to go for the day, then work your way back toward the east. Also, I would leave the closest section for your last day, and some time margin on that last day (if possible!). So for three days, I would plan this: One day for Mammoth, Tower-Roosevelt, Lamar Valley (drive first to Mammoth and work your way east). One day for Canyon area & Norris. I would actually start at Canyon, because that area gets really congested with people/traffic. Canyon and Norris aren't too far apart. Also you could stop at Mud Volcano area some time in that day (Mud volcano is pretty cool, but a short stop). One day for Madison, Old Faithful, West Thumb (starting at Madison and working back) Alternately, you could do Mammoth & Norris one day and Canyon, Tower, etc. the other day. The drive between Norris & Mamoth is really beautiful, but I believe they're still doing construction along that road, so prepare for extra time. You will be passing by the Lake & Fishing Bridge every day, so you can stop there when you have time. Also, you'll pass by Buffalo Bill Dam on the drive between Cody & Yellowstone, and that is worth a stop (maybe one hour, but a really cool dam). Like someone else mentioned, food in the park is expensive! And not fabulously good. We packed our lunches, but got stuck eating supper in the park one day. There are plenty of spots with picnic tables for eating. Will you have any days to spend in Cody? It is a fun town. We loved the rodeo and Buffalo Bill Center was good. We only had one day there, but it was a nice reprieve from driving. If you have more time there, I think Ottakee spent time there on her trip and had some good suggestions. Have a fun trip!

Praying for you tonight, Rose. :grouphug:

Thanks for posting about this! Got it for $88 from Wal-mart. Still trying to suppress the inner freak-out about spending that. much. money. on a calculator! But glad for a good deal, thanks to the WTM peeps.

Praying!

Yes! We actually had a clear enough sky to see it. So cool! Tonight, too cloudy. :huh:

:grouphug: That is a lot on your plate! You have some good advice and are moving forward with some good planning. Do prioritize caring for yourself; give yourself time to recover emotionally, mentally, physically!

Dear eaglei, I am so sorry. Your son was a remarkable young man, and your loss is great. May the Lord uphold and strengthen your family in the days ahead. I am continuing in prayer for you. :grouphug:

We have been dealing with tiny ants and large ants (ugh!), and the only thing that seems to work against them is Terro.

Just a few thoughts: 5.5 hours/day is a lot for a fifth grader. However, I can't tell if that includes things like piano, reading, or "fun stuff", field trips, etc. I would not suggest finding different curricula if what you've got planned are things that you are already comfortable with. But do look through and see if there is redundancy, then you can cut there. Also, doing things serially throughout the year rather than everything at one, or doing things one or two weeks a month, or doing certain things on opposite days can help to streamline while still getting in some of the extras that you want to do.

I will just start by saying that my boys didn't get phones until age 13/14, but my thoughts apply to young teens and pre-teens. In our family at that age, all passwords are known by parents, period. And I will "spot check" texts, IG, FB, etc. as needed. My husband has all of our kids e-mails forwarded through his account (I don't exactly know how that works). He doesn't actually read them all, but it gives us a good idea of who they're getting e-mails from. Honestly, my boys have been very open with their electronics, so we haven't had a lot of issues. If my child refused to give me passwords and got angry and defensive about the possibility of parents seeing texts, etc., I would probably decide they were not ready for that level of electronic usage and we would back up a bit. I have no need to control my teen's lives, but I do have a responsibility to protect them and more importantly to help them learn how to protect themselves and be wise with electronics.

It looks like you are keeping elements in your home school that will give her time to focus on something besides "facts" - the tea time, poetry, art, philosophy. My thought is that if you leave space for those kinds of things, it will help bring a balance to her days. Haven't heard any of those talks, but they all look really good! Andrew Kern & Sara Mackenzie are always good, imo, you can't hardly go wrong there. Haven't heard of Tim McIntosh, but I may buy it an listen because the topic looks excellent!

Our dance studio uses e-mail exclusively. There are rarely last minute changes, unless they are weather related. I do think e-mail is reasonable, and probably texting as well, but I would not appreciate a form of communication that required a smart phone.

We were just at Yellowstone last July. Love it so much! The traffic was not as bad as I expected. The Canyon area was very busy, and there construction between Norris & Mammoth. Definitely check on construction areas so you know where to expect delays. Mud Volcano is just north of Bridge Bay on the way to Canyon. It has unique thermal features and it's a fun quick stop. The geysers and other thermal features are not to be missed. But you can't see them all in a short time. There are so many! Old Faithful and the surrounding area is a must do, but Norris is also so interesting and unique. I would not miss that. The canyon is amazing and beautiful. The canyon area was the most crowded, so that would be a good place to hit early in the day. I was a bit underwhelmed by Mammoth Hot Springs area. It was neat to see, but not my favorite. You can definitely cover the entire figure eight in two days, or you can hit the highlights and spend more time at each place. I'm glad we covered the whole loop and several entrances, but I'd love to go back and spend more time. Enjoy!

Reg & MomsintheGarden, congratulations to your ds! And to you, for leading and challenging your students in this way. I hope he competes well this week and has a great sense of satisfaction regardless of the outcome.

Wait...what?! Your DS graduated? How does this happen, apparently time keeps moving on and kids keep growing up?! :laugh: Congratulations to your son, and I'm glad you had a wonderful and memorable graduation weekend!

:grouphug: What a hard place for you as a mom! I'm praying that you can celebrate his accomplishments today and have courage to continue walking the path with him.

I've had success (buying) with Homeschool Classifieds and the Best Homeschool Swap group on Varage Sale

We just did this drive (or most of it, we go through Indiana to Chicago) last summer. We drove from Ft Wayne to Chamberlain, SD in one day. It was...a long day. Be sure the plan for traffic, we hit it after Chicago on 90 (construction). :huh: The Corn Palace in Mitchell is a fun short stop. Are you planning to do Minuteman Missile Site? That is about an hour east of Rapid City, seems like one your family would like. There are some great threads here for South Dakota trip planning - do a search if you haven't read them. We loved South Dakota!

Agreeing with others that her mental health must be first priority. Academic achievement will be useless for her if she isn't mentally healthy over the long term. Just looking at the bolded in particular, I'm wondering if the very rigorous academic program would be a good fit for her even without the mental health issues? Would she have time to pursue the art/technology skills that she loves and hopes to work at in the future? Would the rigorous/advanced academics be helpful or necessary for her long term goals?

praying here. :grouphug:

She's a beautiful bride! Congratulations!