Zion National Park Highlights { A to Z Blogging Challenge }

Well we made it to  the very last day of the challenge!

Luckily I can rely on our travels to help me out with some

of the "tough" spots in the alphabet such as 

Yellowstone , Yosemite and ZION!

If you have never been to Zion National Park in 

southwestern Utah, it's a must. 

It's truly not a park to bypass.

One of many national parks considered part of the

 "grand circle"  of canyonlands, which include

 the iconic Bryce and Grand Canyon, Zion is the most visited 

national park in Utah and the 6th most visited park in the US!!

Now wait a minute...do not let me catch you saying

you can't afford a trip "like this!" 

Don't.

If we can, you can.... and here's how.

So here are some highlights of our 2013 trip

that I'd love to share with you......

We are headed back to "redo"  and re-live

certain favorite spots again this summer......

and just maybe we'll be lucky enough to see

you out there on Highway 89 in southern Utah,

 en route to Zion this year too!

What do you think?? 

"The Narrows"

Thank you for visiting the blog for  Day  26 ~ Z,

and the very LAST day   of the A to Z Challenge!

And thanks for sticking with me through the entire month of posts!

It's been fun and a stretch at times!

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

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Until next time,

~Chris

Yellowstone and Yosemite Highlights ~ { A to Z Blogging Challenge }

Well,  day 25  (can you  believe it ? ) of the A to Z challenge....
how perfect that two of my favorite national parks
begin with " Y "

SO happy to share some highlights of ur summer cross country trek
from a few years ago:
.


Yellowstone Falls
aka The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River:

The Geyser Basin~~

And how close we were to this amazing buffalo~~~

and...........

Yosemite Valley

Yes, we did take that shot!

We actually have  numerous Ansel Adams prints hanging on our walls....

........ we love Yosemite, where his most iconic shots were taken.....

 so so much.....we've been blessed with  creating a wealth of memories there........ 

Thank you for visiting for  Day  25 ~ Y,  of the A to Z Challenge!

Please visit tomorrow for Z and Zion National Park, day 26 !

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

  

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

~Chris

eXtreme pogo { from the archives } A to Z blogging challenge

Well we made it to DAY 25 of the A to Z challenge guys!!

yay!

Since "X" is not...

well......the most conducive letter to write off of...

for me anyway......

And since I'm:

1. a tad low on creativity at this point in the challenge

and

2. thinking a "rerun"  of this post would be kinda 

 fun and is sort of over due

< and mostly #2.....>

here we go.

Here's my youngest a good four years ago when the kids

were on a pogo binge:

BUT..........

 mainly, for some unique wackiness,

 click over the for eXtreme pogo video my 

oldest created and edited and sort of tricked out.

It's an oldie, but a goodie

Enjoy~

and thank you for visiting!!! 

Wordless Wednesday  and Day  24 ~ X,  of the A to Z Challenge!

Please visit tomorrow for Y, day 25 !

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

  

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

~Chris

Weeping Cherry { A to Z Blogging Challenge WW }

Every year we're treated to the beauty of the gently blossoming

and then full  - blown - beauty of our backyard weeping cherry.

Its flowers last such a short time ........

Wordless Wednesday  and Day  23 ~ W,  of the A to Z Challenge!

Please visit tomorrow for X, day 24 !

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

  

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

~

Votre guide pour le meilleur programme français { A to Z blogging challenge #5faves}

I'm kinda cheating for V and day 22 of the A to Z blogging challenge
by using another language......

( or am I ? hmmmmm ) 

But it "fits "and I'm loving our French resources lately...so why not? 

And for those of you who have not used your French since high school
(or maybe college)  days, yes you are correct....
this is your guide to the best French curriculum

Anyway........ my son is in 7th grade and has been 
dying to learn French for some time now.
We've done some vocabulaire francais here and there in the past,
but this school year, l'etude du frnacais became part of our
regular homeschool curriculum .

So here are the resources we're using.....
the main curriculum, the ancillary materials and some 
other goodies I've discovered along the way 
this year that have enhanced our study.

~ 1 ~
Discovering French Nouveu Bleu 1

Yes, it's definitely  textbook-y, which I know many

home schoolers eschew in favor of a more creative approach.

But I really like the systematic, 

repetitive-yet-not-monotonous plan offered by Nouveau Bleu.

~ 2 ~ 

In sync with the text is a wonderfully coordinated yet not

redundant workbook  which definitely extends the concepts

introduced in the text.......: 

~ 3 ~

We've been homeschooling 13 years now and

 I've tried many many many approaches and materials.

I'm not a huge fan of plopping my kids in front of the 

computer to practice their skills, regardless as to subject area.

BUT I can safely say that the Take Home Tutor  CD Rom

 is EXCELLENT and offers tons of videos  and  dialogue for learners

to listen, listen and listen.

It's not just an electronic workbook, though there are review activities

that are workbook- reminiscent.

Really a well put together and wonderful resource.

 ~ 4 ~

Quick references for vocabulary and grammar?

The bookmarks that  highlight and reference the program's essentials.

I'll be back tomorrow with a better picture of the bookmarks.

This is just the packaging....I can't seem to get a good picture now

so I'll try tomorrow in "natural light."

 ~ 5 ~

Good old fashioned 3 x 5 index cards to keep track of

vocabulary and grammar.

We've also been writing  conjugations on cards.....

there are a LOT of verbs, but practice and repetition

 makes the standard verb endings seem more second nature. 

We keep the cards boxed 

and in categories by part of speech, grammar rules and etc.....

using these separator tabs.

I'm happy to link with Ashley's weekly #5faves party

at The Big White Farmhouse 

Please click over to peruse many bloggers' favorite "everything!"

It's  really a lot of fun!

Day  22 ~ V,  of the A to Z Challenge!

Please visit tomorrow for W, day 23 !

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

  

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

~Chris

Unite ~ Five Minute Friday { A to Z Blogging Challenge } #fmf

Yup, it's Saturday and  I intended to get in on the FMF

tribe writing, but where oh where did the day go?

Yesterday I blogged The Bard's birthday....

just now I clicked over to Kate's to the  writing prompt.

How p-e-r-f-e-c-t that this week is Unite

since today is day 21 and "U" of the A to Z Blogging Challenge!?

What luck......

And what memories..... 

Unite. Unity. Cohesive

 Close. Affection. Relate.

Together...so essential.

My thoughts wander to road trips and 

forced togetherness.....just what we need.

In one of many summer journeys, 

Despite a few squabbles...after all, 

it's a lot of togetherness and one small tent.....

...despite all that...the getting 
on each other's nerves of the trip,
there is beauty.

Breathtaking and heartbreaking

The vapors of moments

and

the layers of time?

Those will shine in the future

 with the quiet and the togetherness 

that we feel right now.

I hope they will.

I'm happy to join the tribe of FMF writers at Kate's.

Please click over to Kate's for some truly beautiful pieces of writing.....

and glimpses of hearts.

Day  21 ~ U,  of the A to Z Challenge!

Please visit tomorrow for V, day 22 !

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

  

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

                                 ~Chris